Janet Thies

POPLAR BLUFF - Janet Maria Thies, 60, formerly of Charleston, died March 20, 2003, at St. John's Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis, following an extended illness.

Born Jan. 30, 1943, in Charleston, daughter of Sylvia Caraker Seib of Poplar Bluff and the late Austin Seib, she was a poster child for the March of Dimes in Minnesota. She attended St. Henry School in Charleston, graduated in 1958 from Poplar Bluff High School and earned a degree from the Rounsaville Business College in Poplar Bluff. She and her husband owned and operated Thies Secretarial and Answering Service for 26 years. They worked with men and women who participated in the China Burma India (CBI) Theatre in the World War II "Hump Pilots Association." She served the organization's executive secretary for 35 years and helped publish and edit four volumes on the CBI Theatre, which are now on display in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. Thies was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church where she sang in the choir, was co-coordinator in the Re-New Program and involved in other church functions. She was also a charter board member of the Independent Living Center of Southeast Missouri.

On May 30, 1963, in Poplar Bluff, she married William W. "Bill" Thies Jr. who survives of the home.

Survivors in addition to her husband and mother include: one son, Michael William Thies of Cape Girardeau; two sisters, Mary Susan Beis and Rosemary Scobey of Poplar Bluff; two brothers, Chris Seib of St. Louis and Richard Seib of Dallas, Texas; and more than 100 nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Saturday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church with the Rev. Michael McDevitt officiating.